Waving Flag Card Tutorial

Want to turn a patriotic card into something special? The flag on this card waves back and forth with the pull and push of a pull tab. This mechanism is so fun to play with. It takes an ordinary pull tab card to the next level. If you would like to make your own waving flag card, just follow my tutorial below. Be sure to read through the entire tutorial before beginning and read all my notes for important information.

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Step 1 Card Base


Start with a piece of card stock 11” x 4-¼”. On the long side, score this piece at the 5-½” mark. Note: This card uses a tent fold card base meaning that the fold is at the top of the card. Do NOT substitute for a card with a left side fold, because this will impede the pull mechanism.

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Step 2 Slot


Fold the card in half along the score line. With a pencil make a mark 1” in from the left side and ¾” from the top. From this mark, draw a pencil line parallel to the side of the card and ¾” long towards the bottom of the card.

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Step 3


Open the card up and cut a slot using a hobby blade and a ruler. Make the slot slightly wider than the line. To do this I cut next to the line on both sides and then cut across to connect the two lines. The finished slot should be about 1/16” wide and ¾” long. Note: If you don’t make your slot wide enough, your mechanism will still work, but you will see some wrinkling around the slot.

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Step 4


Stamp a message under the flag area, if desired.

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Step 5 Pull Mechanism


Start with a piece of card stock 5-½” x 2”. Since this mechanism will be visible when the card is opened, I chose to use the same color card stock as my card base. On the long side, score at 1-½” mark. Note: I have intentionally chosen to have the pull tab stick out from the card by about 3/8”. If you wish yours to be flush with the card edge, shorten your pull tab to 5-1/8” x 2” and omit the ticket corner punch in step 8.

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Step 6


On the short side, score at the 1” mark.

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Step 7


Fold the pull mechanism in half along the 1” score line and glue together with Tombow multi glue. Hold together until the glue has fused the fold in place. Note: The pull tab is made with a doubled over piece of card stock to increase its strength.

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Step 8


Use the ticket corner punch to cut the corners of the pull tab on the side furthest away from the score mark.

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Step 9


Cut a ¼” notch 1” in from the bottom left of the pull tab. I cut my notch slightly wider than my pencil mark. Note: I have enhanced the 1-½” score mark (beige dashed line) to better illustrate on which side to cut the notch.

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Step 10


Bend over the pull tab on an angle from the notch to the nearest end. This will facilitate feeding the pull tab through the slot in the next step.

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Step 11


Feed the bent over pull tab through the slot starting from the inside of the card. When the end appears on the front, straighten out the bend you made in step 10. On the inside of the card, fold the pull tab along the score line. The fold will sit ½” to the left of the slot (see photos at the end of this tutorial, which better illustrate the whole mechanism)

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Step 12


Using the 1- ½” Circle Punch, cut a thumb grip on the right side of the card centered where the pull tab will pull out.

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Step 13 Pull Tab Guide


Start with a piece of card stock 2-1/16” x 1-¼”. On the long side, score in ½” on each side. Note: It is important to score in at the ½” mark then turn the card stock 180 degrees and score at the ½” mark again. Do not score at the 1-½” (you can see in the photo that the beige score line is not aligned with the 1-½” score groove.

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Step 14


Place doubled sided adhesive along both of the ½” tabs.

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Step 15


Remove the adhesive liners from the guide. Open up the card. Next, wrap the ½” tabs around the pull tab with the sticky tabs facing down.

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Step 16


Adhere the guide to the inside of the card. Make sure the guide does not show through the thumb guide on the front side of the card and make sure to place the guide so that its edges are parallel to the edges of the card.

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Step 17 Flags


Stamp and cut out two flags. I’m a Canadian, eh … so I felt compelled to use the Canadian flag, but please feel free to insert your own flag here. Every flag looks better when it’s waving in a breeze.

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Step 18


Put adhesive on the back of both of your flags.

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Step 19


Remove the adhesive liners from one of the flags and adhere it to the piece that is sticking out on the front of the card. Be careful to adhere the flag only to the tab and not to the card front.

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Step 20


Pull the pull tab (from the thumb grip) so that the flag flips over to reveal its back side. Remove the adhesive liners from the second flag and place it over top of the first flag.

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Mechanism Before Pulling

The first photo illustrates the mechanism before it’s pulled.

The window sheet shows the front of the card base.

The red bold line shows where the slot is.

The angled striped area shows where the first flag will be attached.

The dashed black line shows where the pull tab mechanism is folded along the score line. Notice how the fold is to the left of the slot.

The yellow card stock shows where the guide is placed.

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Mechanism After Pulling

The second photo illustrates the mechanism when it’s fully pulled.

The red bold line shows where the slot is.

The dashed line shows where the pull tab mechanism is folded along the score line. The pull tab mechanism is fully extended in this photo. The fold has straightened out. Notice how this dashed line has shifted from the left of the slot to the right of the slot.

The dotted area shows where the second flag will be attached.

Note: When the pull tab is pulled it will push out and expand ½” as it swivels on its fulcrum. Therefore it’s best to leave the mechanism uncovered on the back. I have chosen to use card stock for the mechanism that matches the card base to make it as unobtrusive as possible.

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Supplies: Stamp Sets: Canadian Pride, Family Phrases; Paper: Marina Mist Textured, In-Color Designer Series Paper Pack (Hostess), Marina Mist, Basic Black, Whisper White; Ink: Real Red, Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, Versamark; Punches: 1-¼” Circle, Ticket Corner; Heat Tool; Whisper White & Clear Embossing Powder; Cutting Mat; Hobby Blade; Mono Multi Glue.

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